


Partying can suck

by who_seeks_shall_find



Series: Life as I see it [53]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alcohol, F/M, Jealousy, Party, Protective Oliver Queen, Protectiveness, Self-Defense, Teenagers, Underage Drinking, post-season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-08 11:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15242856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/who_seeks_shall_find/pseuds/who_seeks_shall_find
Summary: William attends a party but everything doesn't go according to the plan and in the end, William is glad to see his dad and Felicity.





	Partying can suck

**Author's Note:**

> This is a part of a series about Oliver's imprisonment and a year after it. This drabble takes place after 337 days of Oliver's release from prison.
> 
> The series will be updated once a day (if it's just possible). It's going to include 122 drabbles about Oliver, Felicity, William and other characters who are involved in their lives. It's going to take approximately four months to finish the series. The drabbles are linked to each other but they're NOT in a CHRONOLOGICAL order. That's why, there may also be gaps or blanks which are filled in later.
> 
> I wish that every character is respected without unnecessary hatred.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

William was sitting on the porch outside of his friend Chris’s house. He needed to take a breath after everything because Chris’ birthday party had escalated pretty quickly. There a lot of older kids from their school. Apparently, they had thought that it was okay to crash someone else’s party and bring enough beer for the whole neighbourhood. Now there were more than enough drunken minors. 

William pressed his face on his hands and rubbed it desperately. He hadn’t even taken a sip of beer because he had promised to his dad and Felicity not to drink anything alcoholic tonight. He didn’t want to break his promise and their trust. It had been hard enough to get them to trust him again after his irresponsible choice to engage a fight so he could help a woman who had been about to be assaulted. William had gotten a long speech about how he should have called to police or his dad instead of getting himself physically involved.

Then William’s thoughts were interrupted when a few of his school peers came outside with their red cups full of beer. Those guys weren’t older than fifteen but it didn’t seem to stop them. They laughed loudly and talked about their tactics for the next beer pong game. The guys hadn’t noticed him and soon they just stumbled back inside. William rolled his eyes at them. 

William played with his fingers and let out a deep sigh. He wasn’t against alcohol or having fun. He could play beer pong and have a few beers with his friends when he was older. Nevertheless, now it didn’t feel right although he knew he wasn’t probably going to wait until he was legally allowed to drink, either. He wanted to try alcohol when the situation was under his control and the environment was safe. Tonight definitely wasn’t the night. 

William raised his upper body and leaned his back on the wall. The night had been nice but William couldn’t hide his disappointment. He had waited for Olivia to be there although he tried to convince himself that it didn’t matter. He had kind of hoped for her to show up but after three hours he had realized that she wasn’t coming. It had felt like a stab in his chest. Having a crush was complicated, exciting and painful – all at the same time. Sometimes, William felt like he was sleep walking because nothing made sense anymore.

William took his phone from his pocket and looked at the time. It was almost ten and he should be back home at eleven. He would still have almost an hour but he didn’t want to be there anymore. There was nothing more for him to do or see. Besides, his friends were way too busy pretending to be much cooler and tougher than they actually were. William rose to his feet and walked down the small stairs which led to the porch. He wasn’t sure whose number he should dial because his dad was out patrolling and Felicity was working as the Overwatch. They were supposed to pick him up before eleven but now they were preoccupied. 

Then there was Roy but he was probably hitting the streets with the Green Arrow. William wasn’t sure who else to call and he let out a frustrated growl. William kept looking at his phone and scrolling down his contact list but he raised his head when he heard a group of teenagers coming towards him. Obviously, they were coming to the party but he didn’t know any of them. William turned to look at his phone again.

They laughed and talked loudly but William ignored them. They were walking past him when a girl exclaimed: “Look, it’s the son of the Green Arrow.”

William cursed under his breath. He didn’t need drunken people to tell their opinions about his dad tonight. Yet, William turned to look at the talker who didn’t seem too drunk. She took a hesitant step closer to William and William could see that she was probably a few years older than him. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have shouted it like that,” the girl apologized as her friends stopped and turned to look at their exchange.

Her apology was surprising in William's opinion and he didn’t know how to react. His mouth was just hanging open and the girl took another hesitant step closer to him. Her friends shifted uncomfortably and it was obvious that they already wanted to go inside. One of them even impatiently clattered his plastic bag full of bottles and cans. 

The girl offered her hand and said: “I’m Melanie.”

“I’m William,” he responded and grabbed Melanie’s hand.

Melanie chuckled as she shook his hand and she said: “Yeah, I know.”

The boy, who had clattered his bottles in the bag, grunted annoyed and shouted: “Let’s go, Melanie.”

“You go. I’ll be right after you,” Melanie calmly suggested without turning her gaze away from William.

William turned his head down and blushed a little because she had chosen him over her friends. Melanie’s friends went inside and the guy with the bag slammed the front door shut so he could make his point clear. Melanie laughed nervously and William lifted his head.

“I’m sorry about him. He’s not exactly good at social interactions,” Melanie said and gave an apologetic smile.

“It’s all good,” William rushed to answer as he put his phone back into his pocket.

“Yeah,” Melanie said and she turned to look at the front door with a blank face. Clearly, she was deep in her thoughts. 

Then she shook her head and smiled at William brightly. She started: “I wanted to thank your family.”

“For what?” William asked confused.

“For standing up for the city. Not everyone would have done that,” Melanie explained and shrugged.

“I’m not the person you should be thanking to,” William immediately responded. 

“Maybe not but I don’t exactly have the phone number of the Green Arrow in my contacts,” Melanie said and winked her eyes at William.

William laughed good-naturedly and promised: “I’ll pass on your message. I’m sure that the team will be appreciate it.”

“Are the other members of his team going to reveal their secret identities at some point?” Melanie asked and leaned forward.

William rubbed the back of his neck as he replied: “I don’t think so. Not everyone appreciates their actions like you do.”

“I guess not,” she mumbled and the silence fell between them.

William put his hands in his pockets and Melanie entwined her own fingers. After a while, she continued: “I was once saved by the Green Arrow and his team.”

“Is that so?” William asked and gave a gentle smile.

“Yeah. I guess I wouldn’t be here today without your father,” Melanie said as she looked down at her tangled fingers.

William just nodded because he didn’t want to pressure her. She would talk about it if she wanted to. It couldn’t have been an easy situation if you had been saved by the Green Arrow. It was sometimes uncomfortable how people wanted to poke unpleasant memories. In William’s experience, some things should just be left alone.

William could see a small glint in Melanie’s eyes because of the unshed tears. He pressed his hand on her forearm and squeezed it gently. Melanie raised her head and gave a sad smile. Then she sniffed and nervously tugged her hair behind her ear. Then the front door opened once again and they both looked up. The guy, who had had the plastic bag, came out but he halted when he saw them. William quickly dropped his hand and Melanie took a step closer to the guy who looked like he was going to explode.

“You gotta be kidding me,” the guy growled and he walked the small stairs down with a beer in his hand. 

Melanie went right in front of him and pressed her palms on the guy’s chest. She commanded: “Jeff. You need to calm down.”

The guy didn’t look at Melanie but he stared at William murderously. William gulped and the guy started raging: “Are you serious? He’s like eight years old.”

“What are you talking about?” Melanie asked quietly. 

“I talk about that little bastard to whom you have talked for the last fifteen minutes,” the guy shouted and pushed Melanie out of his way. William gritted his teeth as he saw how the guy treated her.

He came right in front of William who tried to take a step back. William raised his hands up in the air and tried to calm the guy down: “I was just leaving. You two can go to enjoy the party.”

Then William took another step back but the guy threw his beer on William’s jacket. Then he grabbed him from his jacket collar as he spitted out: “You’re not going anywhere.”

Melanie came closer to them and took a hold on the guy’s arm but he shook her violently off. William was starting to get enough of this guy so he said behind his gritted teeth: “Stop it now.”

It provoked the guy and he pulled his fist back, preparing to throw a punch. That was also the moment when William’s instincts kicked in. Luckily, his dad and uncle Roy had him a few tricks. Before the guy even realized what was going on, William punch upwards and the hit landed on the guy’s nose. The guy let go of William’s collar and then William swept the guy off his feet with his own leg. 

The guy landed on his back with a grunt and William wasn’t even sure what just had happened. He kept his defense position while he tried to catch his breath. William was wet because of the beer and he smelled terrible. Melanie let out a small sob and she knelt beside the guy who was swearing loudly. Yet, the guy didn’t seem to be a threat anymore and William relaxed a little letting his guard down. 

Melanie turned to look at William and William asked firmly: “Are you two going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” Melanie whispered and pressed her hand on her mouth to prevent sobs to escape her lips. 

“Okay,” William breathed out but he didn’t know what to do next.

They turned their attention back to the guy who was now holding his bleeding nose. His eyes were flaming but there was too much blood for him to talk. He raised himself into a sitting position as he kept holding pressure on his nose. William took a hesitant step closer and he wasn’t exactly proud of himself. It didn’t feel good to see the pain that he had caused although it wasn’t completely his fault. 

“You should put some ice on it. It helps with the swelling,” William suggested and shrugged. The guy gave him a nasty look but Melanie nodded. 

Then William heard a car parking on the street and a car door to open. William turned to look towards the sound and he saw his dad climbing off the car. Oliver had sprinted to William as soon as he had seen the scene. Felicity also got out of the car although she was a few steps behind Oliver. 

William sighed with relief as his dad came closer. When his dad reached them, he pressed his hand on William’s wet shoulder and asked: “Is everything okay?”

“It’s all good,” Melanie hurried to say as she kept holding on the arm of the guy.

Oliver turned to William waiting for a confirmation. William just looked straight into his dad’s eyes and nodded. Felicity came next to William and Oliver. She was obviously scanning William’s body for injuries. 

The guy growled as he slowly rose to his feet as Melanie helped him up: “I think we’re done here.”

He just turned away without saying anything more. As the guy and Melanie walked away, Felicity shouted with a concern: “You should put some ice on your nose. It helps with the swelling.”

Melanie gave a small smile over her shoulder and William almost chuckled because he had just given the exact advice. Yet, he didn’t dare to let out any noise. William, Oliver and Felicity looked how the they went inside and closed the door. When the door was shut, William exhaled sharply and his dad’s grip on his shoulder tightened a little. 

“Do you care to explain why you’re wet and the other guy was bleeding,” his dad asked and his shoulders were tensed.

William waved his hand dismissively before answering: “It’s not an interesting story.”

William tried to move towards the car but Oliver’s firm grip kept him rooted. William sighed and explained everything: “I think the guy got everything wrong. He was just jealous and drunk. He threw his beer on me and after that, he tried to hit me. I was just faster.”

After the story, William shrugged and Oliver let go of his shoulder. Yet, Oliver asked as they started walking towards the car: “So I don’t have to arrow anyone tonight?”

William rolled his eyes at him and said: “At least not for me.”

“You’re really okay?” Felicity assured and William groaned.

“I’m really okay, guys,” he huffed out as they kept walking.

When they reached the car and opened the doors, Felicity asked: “So did you at least have fun tonight?”

William just shrugged and Felicity chuckled. As she pointed to his jacket, she stated: “At least you smell like you had enough fun for a lifetime.”

**Author's Note:**

> Update for tomorrow:  
> Felicity is leaving for Gotham City because she has a business meeting there. Oliver wants to say a proper goodbye before the take off.


End file.
